Light A Fire
by thetwofacedgirl
Summary: Everyone at Degrassi seems to be falling for the wrong person.  Chapter 6: "I don't come here to think, but to escape."
1. Falling Apart

**A/N: Hi! First off, please R&R. Second off, this story has three plots in it, and all of them get intertwined eventually... This first chapter is basically just the introduction of the three different plots, but from now on, all of them will be split up into different chapters (like one day I'll post a Plot 1 chapter, and the next Plot 2... So on). The plots are as follows - Plot 1 involves Adam/Alli/Fiona/Drew. Plot 2 involves Eli/Clare/Fitz. Plot 3 involves Owen/Anya/Wesley/Riley. And finally, this takes place after the two week break, and the uniform thing isn't happening, because that would just take away from the main plot(s). Anything that's happened/is happening in the new episodes so far, hasn't happened and won't happen in this story. So anyway, I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading. :) **

**(Living Room, Torres Household – 7:08 PM)**

"So, you're going to tell her, right?"

"Kind of have to, don't I? I mean, this is definitely something I want – need to do," Adam hesitated, "Might as well… Just get over with."

"Rip the bandage off, as you'd say."

Drew sighed as he put a firm hand on his younger brother's shoulder. He accepted Adam, but he still saw Gracie sometimes when he looked at him. And this was not one of those times. Drew was going to support Adam one hundred percent with this one, he promised himself. "Stay strong," he assured, "Adam."

Adam gave him a tiny smile in return. It was nice to have someone on his side about this situation. Somehow it gave him more confidence. He turned towards the door to the dining room and announced, "I'm going in."

Drew followed closely behind his brother as they entered the dining room together. They both took their seats at opposite sides of the table across from each other, sharing the occasional glance throughout their meal. Drew's gaze seemed to say, "Tell them!" while Adam's responded with a stubborn, "Give me time!"

Unfortunately, Drew didn't have time. Drew looked at his parents and shot them an award-winning grin. "So," he began, to catch their attention. Adam watched closely too, as he scraped up a fork full of rice. The boy assumed that Drew was just going to start up a conversation and ease the weight on Adam's shoulders off. Oh, how wrong he was.

"Yes, Drew?" Mrs. Torres asked. Adam was anxious, he was really waiting to get this out, but it was a known face – you couldn't just ask Audra Torres to help you get a start up for surgery and testosterone treatment money when you were born Gracie Torres.

There was a silence across the table, the only sound being the sound of Adam's fork dropping to his plate and his hand grasping his glass.

"…Adam wants a sex change." Drew suddenly blurted.

Adam spit out his drink into his plate. "Gracie!" Mrs. Torres shouted, not even realizing what she'd said. When Adam looked over at her, she had a face that clearly said she wished she could take it back.

"My name is Adam… And I don't want a sex change!"

"Whatever, boob removal, same thing," Drew defended himself, though it was hard to do with food shoved into his mouth.

"Adam…?" Mrs. Torres waited for an explanation.

Adam was bright red, staring down into his plate. "I was just thinking that maybe I could, start saving up for treatments and… It's expensive, so I just… I wanted to… I just…"

Mrs. Torres shook her head, "I can never have a nice, normal family dinner," she stated, emphasis on the word 'normal'. Adam understood that she still thought this whole boy thing was a phase her daughter was going through.

"Adam's part of the family too, Mom," Drew said innocently.

Adam just stared down at his plate and didn't say anything. He remembered the day when he came out to his parents – compared to this, it seemed so much easier. This would change his life completely and he knew it. Drew knew it, his parents knew it and that's why Adam figured that he wasn't getting anywhere.

"Let's not talk about this now," Mrs. Torres said sharply.

The rest of the night was spent in silence.

* * *

**(Bathroom, Fitzgerald Household – 7:52 AM)**

Mark Fitzgerald was hardly one to stand in front of the mirror and admire what he saw staring back at him. Why, to most and the boy himself, there was nothing to admire.

He was a monster.

After the Vegas Night incident, he was going to go back to school and kids were going to be watching him very closely.

Mark Fitzgerald, oh, he's the kid who brought a knife to Vegas Night. He ruined it, he ruined everything. I can't believe he's showing his face around here again. I heard he had to do jail time. He tried to kill that emo boy!

He's practically a murderer.

Fitz would have thought it himself, but he wanted to begin a whole new life. Clearly, Eli wasn't going to befriend him, but Fitz wasn't going to drag out this fight any longer.

He would leave Bianca and Owen behind with his old ways, be nicer to Adam and all the other kids he had previously mocked.

But most importantly, he would walk right up to Clare Edwards and say nothing more than,

"I'm sorry."

* * *

**(Degrassi Community School – 7:55 AM)**

"Anya? Are you listening to me?"

"Hm? What about Zane?"

Riley sighed and gave a small shake of the head. "What are you daydreaming about now?" he smirked. Anya didn't find what he was smirking about, she just remained serious. "Dr. Chris?" Riley tried.

"I don't want to hear it, Riley," Anya said, turning and walking away. Riley was quick to follow – he wanted to know when something was wrong with his best friend, of course.

"Anya, I always come to you for help with Zane, or when I just need someone to listen, you're that someone," he stated, as he stopped her from advancing into the school, "And I want you to feel like you're able to come to me too."

Anya just blinked and stared at him for a moment. But finally, she broke, and with a sigh, gave into both Riley and her emotions. "My mom has cancer, Riley," she tried to remain calm. But as every word came out of her mouth, her tone just got sadder. Anya couldn't believe she was saying this. "All I can do is hope for her, hope it'll go away… But what if it doesn't? What if that's not enough? What if she DIES, Riley?" Anya was almost shouting through her tears now.

Riley was next to her in an instant with an arm draped over her shoulder. He knew that every time Anya smiled, she was still just dying inside – she'd be dead with her mother – Riley didn't want to think about it as much as Anya didn't. His best friend had once been so full of life but now she was just this crying mess, lying in his arms.

"Like you said, you can just hope," Riley said, "Hope for her. You're her rock, Anya; you're going to get her through this…"

"She's going to die!"

"Anya! Please, just listen…"

The final bell rang, and Anya jolted upward instantly. "We have to get to class," she told him, wiping tears with the back of her hand and letting out the occasional sniffle. "Don't want to be late again, come on!"

Riley felt like a failed friend, Anya was just acting like they never had that conversation and completely ignoring his thoughts. "No, Anya," he grabbed her wrist, stopping her again. Although her face was tear-free, it was still obvious that she had been crying – especially since a large amount of the student body had witnessed her breakdown, "Take the day off."

"I'll be fine," Anya shot him a weak smile and bolted inside, only to bump into someone on her way – "Ow!"

"Oh, Anya! I'm so sorry…" a familiar voice rang out. She sat upward and looked straight into the eyes of Wesley. Great, just the person she wanted to see. "Have you been… Crying?"

"Allergic reaction," she lied, grabbing the book he'd offered her, "Thanks. It was nice bumping into you, Wesley, goodb-"

"Anya, did we ever discuss… Er… Date… Dates?" Wesley stuttered as he stood up and reached to help her up – she ignored his hand though and he awkwardly withdrew it and shoved it in his pocket, his face reddening. Obviously, Wesley knew that they hadn't discussed a proper day for the date they were supposed to be going on.

Anya faked a smile. "How about… Um… Tonight?"

Wesley grinned, "Oh! Okay. I'll uh, pick you up at seven then? I mean, my Mom and I will… I mean, I will, but my Mom's driving… She's not, coming on the date or anything… Why would she come on the date? She's my Mom! I just can't drive… Because I'm too young and I… I… Okay, bye, Anya!" and with that he ran off.

Anya just watched him run for a moment, feeling bad for Wesley – she knew that the boy really had it for her.

He was so happy to go on the date tonight.

She was so happy just to get it over with.

**Next chapters are as follows - **

**Plot 1: Fiona, anxious to get over her own problems, listens on an "interesting" conversation.**

**Plot 2: Fitz is ready to man up and say sorry to Clare... Not noticing who's watching from afar. **

**Plot 3: Ever since coming out of the closet, Riley's been having a little trouble of his own. **


	2. Third Wheels

**(Holly J's locker, Degrassi Community School – 12:06 am)**

"I still don't get it." Fiona innocently blurted out as she stared at Holly J.

Holly J raised an eyebrow. "Math class? It's pretty easy, actually, you know, if you actually pay attention every once and a while..."

Fiona gave Holly J a slightly exaggerated pout. "I pay attention!" she protested, "That's not what I'm talking about, anyway… I'm talking about… _that_." Holly J's blue eyes followed the direction Fiona's manicured finger was pointing in, only for them to land on school president and her own boyfriend – if you could consider him that – Sav.

"He's not a that, he's a him," Holly J corrected, as she forced a binder into her locker, "Maybe you should pay attention in English class too."

"What happened to Declan? I thought you guys were… Meant to be," Fiona said, her head resting against the locker next to Holly J's. She'd never forgive her friend for just breaking it off with Declan like that. What happened to their future together? All the Yale plans? Fiona and Holly J were supposed to be sisters in law, and Fiona was supposed to be the aunt to a couple of cute little baby girls that her best friend had popped out – one hopefully named Fiona Coyne II, of course.

And she was just throwing it all away for… Well… _That_.

"It's only until graduation," Holly J said, "I'm sure Declan won't mind. We'll be back together soon, I promise… When we're at Yale together." She smiled to herself, as if enjoying having such high expectations set for herself. Fiona still continued to sigh as they began to walk together, "Come on, Fi, you don't see me trying to force you to have a boyfriend…"

_Especially not after what happened with Bobby, right?_

"You should see my mother," Fiona told her friend, "She set Bobby and me up, right? And after that, she's still implying all the time that I need a nice guy… It's like I need to be with somebody to please everyone or something. It's not like I would mind, though, I mean, I've never actually had-"

"Holly J!"

Fiona flipped her head to see Sav approach the two and plant a sweet kiss on Holly J's lips. "And… You're not listening."

She just watched, partially upset that Holly J wasn't even paying attention to the fact that she existed anymore, and slightly in jealousy. I mean, now that the subject had been brought up, it was going to stay on her mind for a while.

"I was thinking about you today…" Fiona wanted to puke while she listened.

As Sav and Holly J began going on together about 'presidential stuff' (or in other words, as they flirted), Fiona just found herself walking away. She couldn't be around this, and they didn't even care… Or notice. Fiona just walked into the lunch room by herself and found an empty table to sit down at.

She surveyed the room, hoping that there was somebody she could sit with… As she did this, she couldn't help but notice that a lot of people seemed to be coupled up. Even little Clare Edwards had a cute boy to call her own. Why couldn't that be her?

But Fiona showed a sign of a tiny smile when she saw that she wasn't the only one alone – that short, baby-faced boy that was usually with Clare and Eli was awkwardly watching the couple as well as he gripped his lunch tray and debated whether to sit with them or not. Wasn't he thrown into lockers every day or something? Poor kid. He was kind of cute in a newborn puppy kind of way.

* * *

Adam was filled with disgust as he watched Eli kiss Clare's cheek, play with her hair, whisper sweet words into her ear. She just giggled and blushed, their eyes locking only once and a while. It was nice to see two people that really cared about each other, but not when they were your best friends and you were just a little third wheel nobody cared about. He began to advance towards Wesley, Connor and Dave, until he heard a voice.

"Adam! Over here!"

He turned around and saw that Clare and Eli actually wanted him to sit there. It was shocking, really. But Adam was just glad to have somewhere to sit – maybe they'd act normal around him. You know – un-couple-like.

He sat down and set his tray down on the table. "Hi," he said quietly, trying not to glance in their direction, as they were still quite close. While looking in another direction, he caught the gaze of a beautiful girl a table away, but she looked away instantly. What was her name again? Fianna?

"I haven't talked to you all day, man!" Eli said, pulling apart from Clare – finally – "Where've you been? What's going on in the world of Adam?"

"Did you tell your parents?" Clare smiled at him.

"Oh, yes, I'm dying to know," Eli smirked.

Adam glanced up from his disgusting looking food and gave them a thumbs down. Both of their faces fell. "I don't know what to do. I at least need a start up… I have no clue how I'm going to start saving this money… I mean, I have a lot of money to my own name, but oh no, it has to all go towards college… I'm not showing my face in college looking and sounding like this!" He complained.

"Are you sure you don't have any money in your own bank account?" Eli offered.

"Sixty-one dollars and thirty cents, if my Mom knew I had it, it'd be going towards this fantasy college as well," Adam explained.

"Ouch." Eli commented.

"Thanks for the moral support. Can we talk about something else?"

"I was thinking we could go to the movies… All three of us for a change…" Clare began.

* * *

It had hit Fiona while she was listening to their conversation – which she just couldn't help. He was that transgender kid! It was a little weird to actually know a person like that, but she wasn't judging, it wasn't his fault. She felt bad for him.

And what was that about needing money? Fiona smiled to herself.

"Ah, is that the beautiful Fiona Coyne, sitting all by herself?"

Fiona's thoughts were ended when she heard Drew's voice from above. She looked up at him, and he was giving her that 'I would so tap that' smirk. She knew him well from one of her classes, and knew what had happened on Vegas Night.

"Yeah, and now she's leaving all by herself," Fiona smiled at him, before walking straight past and exiting the room.

"I like a challenge." Drew silently commented to himself as he watched her exit.

* * *

**(Fiona's locker, Degrassi Community School, 12:28 PM)**

Fiona was much happier now, although she was not quite sure what was going on with the change of mood herself. She found herself humming as she unlocked her locker, but when she heard a familiar song start blasting, Fiona dropped the jaunty tune.

"Hello?" she said, whipping open her phone.

"Fifi! Glad to catch you out of class…"

Her face instantly lit up. She didn't have to ask to know who it was. "Declan! Hi, how are you? What's going on? Why are you calling?"

"I was thinking of maybe popping my head into Toronto, looking around?"

"Looking around for a certain Holly J, am I right?" Fiona smiled as she leaned back against her locker. She was just happy that her brother was coming back to see her again – and (somewhat) more importantly, Holly J. This would definitely split her apart from Sav.

Declan gave her a tiny laugh, "Yes, of course, though I need to see my sister too."

"Well, do I have news for you," Fiona said, before trailing off on this long story about Sav and Holly J. It had Declan laughing even harder and saying things like 'Oh wow, Sav?' and 'you have got to be kidding' and 'is this some kind of a joke? Because it's hilarious'. But Fiona denied every time – she herself would have done the same thing, anyway.

"Well look," Declan said, "I'm already getting ideas. I need a place to stay, and you can provide that, yes?"

"Of course."

"I also need a place to throw a party…"

Fiona grinned. A Coyne party – who doesn't love a good Coyne party? This was coming together so perfectly. "Consider it provided."


	3. Change of Heart

**(Clare's locker, 1:01 PM)**

Why did this have to be so much harder than it had sounded in his head?

Fitz didn't want Clare thinking that he was some kind of monster like everyone else did, but what if she didn't buy his apology? I mean, she thought that he had been out to kill Eli.

What if Eli interrupted and tried to keep this fight going? Obviously, he wouldn't want someone such as Fitz to be around his girlfriend.

Fitz had never been this nervous in his life, but with a sigh he walked over.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

"H… Hi," he muttered.

Really? Seriously?

"Hello," Clare responded, looking at him nervously. Was she just confused as to why he was here? Was she scared of him now?

Fitz gulped. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said simply, "For… For everything."

Clare raised an eyebrow. "So, you attempt to murder my boyfriend and you waltz over here and you think that-"

"I didn't try to murder him!" Fitz protested suddenly, trying to say it quietly so he didn't catch anybody's attention – how awkward would that be? "I was just trying to scare him. I wanted this rivalry to end as much as you did."

"Then why didn't you just end it?" Clare demanded. Fitz had to try to get her to be quieter, but Clare obviously didn't care.

"I should have," he admitted, "But… I just wanted an apology."

"So cornering him into a wall with a knife was the only way to get him to apologize, right?" Clare said as she slammed her locker and caused Fitz to jump back a little. He wasn't expecting this kind of response from her, though; he figured he should have been. "Real nice, Fitz, real nice."

"Clare, I'm sorry!" he said, as she began to walk away. "I've changed, or… I'm trying to change. The old Fitz is gone. I promise."

Clare turned around. "Why should I believe you?"

Because I really like you. Because I really, really, really like you. Maybe that's why I had to go and be so hard on your boyfriend. I was upset, I was upset that someone like him could get you, and I couldn't. And I'm trying to make it up to you. I'm changing for you, Clare Edwards. Because I really like you.

"I don't know…"

"I didn't think you would."

"Well…" Fitz obviously wasn't getting anywhere in this conversation. "I'm sorry, and that's it. You can tell Eli and Adam that I'm sorry to both of them too. They both seem like really nice guys, but I don't think they'd want me to get to know either of them now… So I'm not going to apologize face to face. I just thought that maybe you would…" Fitz chewed down on his lip and shook his head, "Nevermind. I'm sorry I wasted your time, too. Forget I said anything." He turned to leave again.

He'd probably just leave school – no point being here, he couldn't concentrate now. He just wanted Clare and him to be on the same page about the situation, but he could still see where she was coming from.

He was a monster.

"Wait!" Clare tried to stop him, but he kept going.

That didn't mean he wasn't listening though.

"What?"

"I forgive you."

Fitz stopped dead in his tracks.

_What did she just say to me?_

He turned around. "You do…?"

"You sound sincere, and I'm sorry too," Clare nodded, "I mean… Obviously, I'm still going to be a little upset… But… It's nice to see that you're trying to change."

_And it's all for you._

A tiny smile formed onto Fitz's face as he looked down at his feet. "Oh… Um…"

Clare smiled too, to see him smiling like that. Something she'd never thought she'd see.

"And… Before you went all psycho on us," Clare began, pausing mid-sentence as she realized she chose the wrong wording to that sentence, "I had a really nice time on Vegas Night…"

Fitz looked up at her with a gleam of hope in his eyes.

"…But, I'm uh, still with Eli."

He smirked, "Yeah, I figured."

She cracked a full-fledged grin, "I hope we can be friends, Fitz."

"Yeah…" he said with a tiny nod, "I hope so too. Um, but yeah, please tell Adam I'm sorry…"

"What about Eli?"

Fitz shrugged, "I don't think he'll want to be hearing from me anytime soon."

Clare just nodded. "I will."

Fitz turned and left, ignoring the glare that Eli was shooting him as he passed by. Wait, Eli?

Eli ran straight over to Clare and grabbed onto her wrist, squeezing it slightly. "Eli! Ow!"

He let go instantly, "I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, I've heard that before… What's going on…?"

"Yeah, Clare, what is going on? You know, with you and Fitzy-boy over there?"

Clare rolled her eyes. She knew this would happen sooner or later if she accepted Fitz's apology, but she couldn't help it. He seemed to really have changed, and she remembered the way that he was at Vegas Night. He seemed like a normal person then… He'd even gone so far to buy her a corsage. It was just so… Nice, and unlike him. When she'd watched him leave, no matter how many people were staring at him, thinking about what he'd done on Vegas Night, he wasn't lashing out at any of them. He was ignoring Owen and Bianca as well.

"He's sorry, he's really, sincerely sorry," Clare explained, "He's had a change of heart. He's a different person now."

"Yeah, because somebody can do a complete 180 within two weeks, right, Clare?" Eli sarcastically muttered.

"He's honestly changed, Eli," Clare said, stopping and turning to look at him, "I don't care what you think about him. It's not like I'm going to cheat on you with him or something, I really care about you, Eli. But Fitz has definitely changed."

"Yeah, well, I'm not giving him a second chance, okay?" he said, crossing his arms across his chest with a slightly obvious jealous tone laced within his words.

Clare nodded. "Understood, but… I hope you know that just because you aren't, doesn't mean I'm not." She said, before turning and walking off towards her proper classroom.

Eli just watched her walk away from him like she hadn't just said something completely important right then. She was giving Fitz a second chance? This was the guy who had laughed when he watched Adam get thrown into a door, the guy who had bragged about how he was going to get Clare to have sex with him, the guy who had almost stabbed him right in front of his girlfriend.

There wasn't one chance that Eli trusted a guy like that with his Clare.

Not after what happened last time.


	4. Confusion

**(Math class, Degrassi Community School – 2:27 PM)**

_Okay, Riley. You have to focus._

Riley glanced down at his paper.

It was blank.

He looked at the questions on the board.

They looked too hard.

But hadn't he been getting this stuff just the other day? Why was it so foreign to him now?

All he could think about was how Anya and him just seemed to be awkwardly avoiding each other ever since her little 'breakdown'. He felt like such a bad friend, he felt useless, like he couldn't help her through his troubles. No matter how much he wanted to.

But then, he thought… Maybe she didn't want him to?

Yeah, that was it. She just wanted to deal with her problems on her own. In her own way.

But that was never good, was it?

* * *

**(Riley's locker, Degrassi Community School – 3:48 PM)**

Finally, the end of the day. Riley couldn't take any of this anymore. He couldn't take watching Anya pass by him without even a glance in his direction, and he felt like he couldn't even go up and talk to her.

But they were best friends – he was going to have to sooner or later.

Okay. She seems fine now. Why not go just say hi and see how it turns out? Anya couldn't stay mad at him forever, and they couldn't stay not speaking forever. It seemed like a good idea – at the time, at least.

Riley nodded to himself, and shut his locker, only to turn and see Anya across the hallway. She gave him a tiny smile that spoke for her,

I'm sorry.

Riley smiled back, and began to make his way over – but walking over to Anya wasn't as simple as he thought it would be.

"Hey faggot!"

Owen smirked at him, blocking his way over to Anya. It wasn't confirmed that Owen was aware of this, but either way, Riley didn't care – he didn't need this. All he needed right now was to talk to Anya. And all he wanted right now was to punch Owen in the face, and then talk to Anya.

He couldn't have Zane angry with him for his use of violence again, but this was about Anya, wasn't it? Riley considered it for a moment, but his thoughts, of course, were quickly interrupted by Owen.

"Didn't see you at practice earlier," the boy jeered, his infamous 'gay voice' following up, "Hot make out sesh with the BF?"

"Owen, leave me-"

"OWEN! Leave him ALONE!"

Riley was surprised to hear Anya's voice from behind them. I mean, she usually defended him, which was nice, but when Anya stepped right in between the two, his mouth was wide open. This was Owen Milligan he was dealing with - What on earth was she doing?

Owen's smirk just grew wider when he saw this. "Are you two ladies going to stab me to death with your eyeliners and high heels?"

However, it completely fell off his face when she slapped him right across the face.

"Why do you always ridicule Riley like that? Constantly, all you do is talk about how much you hate gay people!" Anya was practically shouting, but her expression calmed when she crossed her arms over her chest. "Hiding something, Milligan?"

Riley had never seen this side of Anya before and just didn't understand. Why this? Why now? Was this her way of making it up to him?

Owen, on the other hand, was completely speechless. His mouth had hit the floor with Riley's the moment that Anya had begun screaming at him.

"That's what I thought." She muttered, before linking arms with Riley and walking away.

Owen just watched her leave – his friends were laughing at him, talking about how he got 'owned by a chick'. Sure, he could have been beating them by now, but Owen was too busy watching Anya. How come he'd never seen this side of her before?

His speech finally came back to him, and all he could say was,

"…Whoa."

* * *

**(Front steps, Degrassi Community School – 3:56 PM)**

"Why did you just do that, Anya? Are you insane?"

"I'm not insane," Anya shrugged, like nothing had even just happened, "I'm tired of seeing you being pushed around by somebody like Owen. You have to stand up for yourself, or else I'm just going to stand up for you." She placed a hand up on his shoulder, "It's what a friend does, Riley."

"Um, I tried defending myself, do you remember what happened?" he responded, coming off angrier than intended.

Anya backed away. "I just tried to help," she said quietly.

Riley didn't say anything for a couple of seconds. "…Look, I'm sorry, I-"

"No, I understand," Anya muttered, "You don't need some girl to defend you."

Riley protested against her leaving, following her, but this time, Anya would not turn back towards him. She had way too much on her mind right now and didn't need to deal with Riley.

First objective, get the date with Wesley over with.

Second objective, figure out why it was so hard for her to just tell off Owen right there and then. Sure, he was attractive for somebody like that, Anya had to admit. But he wasn't _that _attractive to her… Was he?

Those muscles, short jet black hair, piercing blue eyes…

But that personality of his proved that nobody could fall for Owen Milligan. Nobody.

"Including me," she thought aloud as she began to walk, silencing for a moment to take everything into contemplation.

"Right…?"

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, for reading, and whatnot. I'm sorry this chapter took so long to post, but I kept forgetting to write it, and it's very bad and short, because when I actually sat down to write it, I had major writer's block! So, once again, I'm sorry. Anyway, upcoming chapters, which I promise will be produced faster next time: **

**Plot 1: Fiona catches her innocent prey alone, and goes in for the kill. How will Adam react to her little offer? Or rather, how will Adam AND Drew react to it? **

**Plot 2: Clare's having problems at home. And there's only one boy she can turn to to solve all her problems... Or so she thinks.**

**Plot 3: And the dreaded date with Wesley arrives. Will Anya loathe it as much as she thinks she will, or will it just confuse her even more? **


	5. Rushing Into Things

**(Parking Lot, Degrassi Community School – 4:11 PM)**

"I can't believe she's late again."

Drew let out a tiny sigh and glanced over at his younger brother. "One second," he said, standing up and brushing off his jeans. Drew turned towards the school and began to walk, leaving Adam alone on the curb.

Adam raised a thin eyebrow. "Where are you going?"

"Inside the school."

"For what?"

No response.

Adam just stood up to follow him, but Drew had already entered the building. He groaned. Knowing well that his brother couldn't hear, Adam called, "Andrew Torres, if I find out that you've left me for some girl, I'm-"

He stopped suddenly, seeing a small brunette girl exit the building. Adam sat down instantly, for a second not even noticing he'd sat, as he watched the elegant Fiona Coyne begin to stride down the steps of the school.

"…Unless I leave you for some girl."

He watched her closely, causing the two to lock eyes.

Adam coolly looked away, attempting to play it off. His heart was racing. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous now, he saw her earlier, and he thought that she was beautiful. Maybe it was the fact that she actually looked back at him the way he was looking at her.

"Hey! You!"

Adam turned to see Fiona fast-walking – not running; she was wearing heels – over to him. "Uh… Me?" he asked her nervously, knowing the answer would be yes.

"You don't see anyone else around here, do you?"

Adam chewed down on his lip and tugged on his beanie as he turned bright pink.

Of course. How dumb did you have to be?

"Which brings me to my next question, who were you talking to?"

"My, uh, my brother… He just left, he uh…"

"Oh, you mean Taylor Lautner with the guido hair who was just hitting on me?" Fiona said as she pointed towards the school.

Yep, that's definitely him.

Adam chuckled, "Sounds like it." He met her eyes again, to see her granting him a warm smile. She wasn't so scary up close, but even more pretty, if possible. "By the way, my name's-"

"Adam Torres?"

_She knows my name?_

"Uh… Yeah," he said, and trying not to sound too obvious, added a, "And you're Fiona right? Fiona… Coyne?"

She nodded, "It's really nice to know that you're not like your brother. Or at least, you don't seem like it." She sat down on the curb, and patted the space on the sidewalk next to him as an offer for him to sit down, "You seem… Nice."

Adam immediately plopped down right beside her and smirked, "Well, someone in the Torres family's gotta be, right?" He motioned towards the doors, "I wouldn't be surprised if he's in there with some girl…"

Adam had to close his mouth before any more came out. He shouldn't be talking about his brother like that, but around a girl like this… Well, that was a different story. But this was his brother.

"Yeah, I heard about him," Fiona assured him, "Boiler Room with Bianca, yes?"

His brother who cheated on girls and treated them like absolute crap. Of course Fiona would know that already.

"...Yes." Adam said, awkwardly.

Fiona giggled, "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, "Let's not talk about that. Let's talk about you."

Adam was shocked to see that Fiona was so real with him. He knew very well who she was, and she didn't seem like the type to be. She just seemed like a pretty face to look at, but Fiona was just so much more than that. Or, so she seemed from the last couple minutes. She wasn't even talking about herself, and Adam loved that.

Time to turn the flirt on, yes?

"Oh, well," Adam began with a tiny grin, "That's always a great subject."

Fiona laughed again. Yeah, that's it, make the girl laugh. "You're too cute."

At this point he was looking down and smiling to himself. She actually thought he was… Cute? Hell, she actually liked him! Nothing would ruin this moment. Nothing could ruin this moment.

"So you're... Like... A transgender, right?"

Adam froze up instantly. That's not the response that he was expecting.

"I… Yeah."

Well, this dream was over. There was a silence between the two as Adam reached over to grab his bag off of the sidewalk and go find Drew. "Hey, no!" she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I think that's really cool!"

Adam looked back at her, confused as ever. Cool? Really cool?

"…You're kidding."

"No, I think it's great that you're not afraid to be yourself," Fiona told him, an earnest expression gracing her pale face, "Who you truly are. It's really cool, like I said." As Adam stopped, she placed her hands back in her lap and continued on, "You know, most of the boys I try to go out with are like your brother… And, a guy like you – no offence – just seems like they would be… So much more honest with a girl. You just seem like one of those guys, and… And I really like you."

"Oh… Um… Thank… Thank you," Adam said, not quite knowing what to say. He dropped his backpack back to the ground, and Fiona looked back at him nervously.

"You know… My friends and parents are always trying to pressuring me to get a boyfriend, and it's just so…" Fiona shook her head, "You don't want to hear this, do you? I mean, I just feel like I can talk to you…"

"No, it's okay," Adam responded. He didn't want to be left alone again, especially when that meant being left alone by Fiona Coyne of all people, "I know how you feel. My parents are always trying to pressure me to become Gracie again… You know, a girl… And… It's really hard."

"Well that's nothing like my dilemma," Fiona laughed, "So, are they going to let you get surgery or whatever?"

"I don't know," Adam shrugged, before offering her a quick explanation of everything that had happened at dinner the previous night. He knew she probably didn't honestly care, but it felt nice to at least have someone to talk about it with. Sure, he talked about it with Eli and Clare, but for some reason, that just wasn't the same. He'd only just met Fiona, but they both seemed to find it so easy to talk to each other.

Was this what love at first sight was like?

"So you're saving up?" she asked, "Isn't it like, really expensive? Won't that take a while?"

"That's why I'm starting early."

In one swift motion, Fiona pulled out her bag from behind her – "Maybe I could help you out a little bit…" – and pulled out her wallet.

Adam didn't know what to say. She was just sitting there, dangling a wallet that was probably full of credit cards and twenty dollar bills right in his face… And offering it to him for his procedures. "I don't know," Adam let out a nervous laugh, "That's kind of, like… Your money."

"You need something, I need something," Fiona stated, "We get along, right? Adam, I know this is kind of soon, but I have this… Idea, if you will. See, yesterday at lunch… If you noticed I was kind of… Watching you? I couldn't help it, I already knew all that stuff about how you were saving it up... And I know that sounds kind of creepy, but, uh, Yeah, well… I had a reason for that… You see…"

* * *

**(Adam's bedroom, Torres Household – 4:29 PM)**

Adam lay flat on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. What had he just done? What had he just agreed to? Better yet, why? He felt awful, and he didn't even know why. Fiona was the one who came up with it. Fiona was the one who had made the offer. He didn't know what to think of himself anymore, or what to think of Fiona anymore. He still liked her, and hey, maybe this was a chance at her liking him too. Did she already? Was she pretending? He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what he knew.

All he knew was that they were dating.

And he used the term 'dating' very loosely.

Very, VERY loosely.

Interrupting all the thoughts about the girl and the unwise decision he'd just made had disappeared when the door burst open and Drew walked in with a smirk.

"Uh, knock much?"

"My house too, I don't have to knock, do I?"

Adam rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked away. Drew slammed the door and sat down at the foot of Adam's messy bed, a huge smile still plastered across his face. "You and Fiona waiting together today. Tell me everything."

"What are we? Seventh grade girls gossiping in the bathroom during recess?"

"You once were."

"Excuse me? You expect me to tell you now?"

"Kidding?" Drew rolled his eyes, knowing that his brother took it a bit more seriously than that. But at this point, Drew just wanted to know what Fiona and Adam were discussing.

Adam sighed. "Fiona knows about my little surgery problem. She's rich, and has this whole 'pressure-to-get-a-boyfriend' problem of her own. So… She's, uh… She's… We're… Kind of…"

"Say it!"

"I'm pretending to date her and she's paying me to do it."

Drew was quieted instantly. Adam couldn't read his expression at all.

"I didn't know what to say!" Adam offered, "Everything just went by so fast and I… I…"

There was more silence, until Drew broke it… With his laughter.

"Just when you think you know your little brother."

Adam rolled his eyes once again - he'd been doing that far too much today - and continued on, "Now she wants me to go to this party she's throwing…" He didn't realize just at that moment that he had said far too much.

Drew raised his eyebrows. He could never pass up a good party, and a Coyne party too, huh? Well, now that Adam was 'dating' the socialite, he could get into these parties. And if he got into these parties, that meant he'd be getting closer to Fiona. Drew had always thought she was really cute, he couldn't help it. Everyone did.

"Being the good little brother you are, you don't think…?"

"I guess I could get you in," Adam sighed, "Got a date?"

"Well I'm back with Alli, so…"

"Alli actually took you back?" Adam should have expected the death glare that he was receiving, "I mean, you actually got back with her?"

"Oh, yeah," Drew said as he got up to leave, "We're back together now."

Drew left Adam alone again, to flop down on his bed and consider contemplating whether to fake break up with Fiona or what. Now that Adam had blurted out news about the party, he had to be a good brother and at least wait a little bit.

"But, we won't be together for long… Once I work my charm," Drew muttered to himself as he closed the door behind him and began to wander back towards his room. His grin just widened as he continued to speak to the air around him like it was holding onto his every word. "It's not like she'd actually ever fall for a guy with his situation."

He shut the door behind him.

"Fiona Coyne is way too good for that."

**A/N: I am SO sorry about the lack of updates! For being patient, you guys get two chapters today. I'll post the second one later. Please review. (: **


	6. Not Alone

(Clare & Eli's Secret Hideout – 4:43 PM)

Pain.

That was all she knew right then and there.

Tears, loneliness, and pain.

Clare slowly whipped a phone out of her bag and flipped it open. She began to scroll through her contacts. She didn't care if he couldn't make it, he needed to at least talk to her.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up…" Clare muttered to herself through tears as she put the phone to her ear.

"Hey."

"Eli-"

"I can't make it to the ph-"

Clare hung up immediately. He wasn't there. Where was he?

Of course the worst things started to fly through Clare's mind.

"He's not cheating, he's not… cheating…"

Clare took deep breaths as she tried to reassure herself. She trusted him, right? At this point in time, Clare really didn't know who to trust.

The two people she'd known so well, for so long, who had helped her out through her entire life… Fighting. Constantly fighting. And the assumptions that her mother had made about her father cheating.

"I thought you and dad loved each other?"

"I thought so too."

The only thing Clare was able to find peace in was this little hideout her and Eli had found a while ago. They hadn't told a soul about it, not even Adam. It was just their hideout, and that was that. And it was like Eli was there with her, comforting her.

But he wasn't. He wouldn't even answer his phone.

She tried another time, but just couldn't get an answer.

Tears, loneliness, and pain.

Clare began to wipe her eyes and stood up to leave, but not until she heard a voice from behind her.

"Clare?"

Eli?

She whipped her head around.

That was most certainly not Eli.

"What are you… D-doing here?"

"This is probably hard to believe, but, uh, sometimes I come here to think."

Clare raised an eyebrow. This was where Mark Fitzgerald spent his time. He hung his head as if it was a shameful thing, to find a place alone and think.

"Think about what?" she muttered, as she started to walk towards him.

"Everything. Why are you here?" Fitz finally raised his head and looked back into her bright eyes. His mouth slightly dropped as he saw the tears pouring out from them. "And why are you… Crying?"

Fitz sat her down and reached an arm around her shoulders, but quickly figured out that was a bad idea by the way Clare pulled it off.

"It's nothing," Clare said as she stood up, "I have to go."

Did she really have to go? Where was she even going?

Clare sure as hell didn't want to go back into that awful house of hers, where there was nothing but fighting going on – she could go and find Eli. Maybe he was with Adam. Maybe they're playing video games and he couldn't answer his phone. Maybe they went to see a movie and he turned his phone off. Maybe they-

"No!"

Clare whipped her head around, to see Fitz standing, but he reluctantly sat back down.

"Or I guess if you really have to go…"

"My parents are fighting," Clare stated, catching his attention again. She needed somebody to talk to. Anybody to talk to. Even if that meant Mark Fitzgerald.

That crossed loneliness off the list.

"Every time I walk into my house, it's just endless yelling and arguing. I've tried to get them to sit down and talk about it, but that's all it is. My mother accused my father of cheating, and-"

She had to stop when she burst into tears again.

And this time, she didn't reject Fitz's arms around her.

There he was again. Mark Fitzgerald. The boy who asked her to Vegas Night, who brought her a corsage… Who almost stabbed her boyfriend.

And then he apologized. But was it honest?

"I know how you feel." Fitz said suddenly.

"N-no you do-don't." Clare whimpered, as she soaked his shoulder with tears.

Finally, she looked back into his eyes, and he quietly spoke, "I guess I don't come here just to think, but to escape," he said, "I know all about broken up families. It's not a topic I'd enjoy talking about, but… I just want you to know that… You're not alone."

Clare just stared at him, as he looked off and continued.

"My mother cheated, she walked out, my father does nothing but drink all day…"

And for once, Clare knew.

She just knew.

This wasn't an act. This was Mark Fitzgerald. Under the scars and bruises he got from fights, under the drinking and the hooking up, he was a real person. He was a real person with real emotions and real problems in his home.

And at that moment, Clare swore she even saw a real tear fall down his face.

"Wait… That corsage…"

"My own money," Fitz commented, still speaking quietly, "I wanted you to see that I'm not a bad guy. But…" He shrugged, leaving Clare able to tell he was reflecting on the rest of the events of Vegas Night.

"You aren't a bad guy, you're just… Misunderstood," Clare stated, as she began to wipe tears from her eyes. She was forgetting about all her problems and focusing on the problems of Fitz. How could she not see? This was so much worse than what she was going to, and he was trying to stay strong throughout it.

She wasn't alone.

There was a silence shared between the two.

"I still have your corsage, you know. It's really pretty."

Fitz glanced up at her for a moment, but looked away too fast. Not fast enough for Clare not to notice the small smile that graced his face.

"I… I have to go," Fitz nodded as he looked at her. "I hope things get better for you and your family. I hope they don't end up like mine. You don't deserve it like I do."

With a small kiss on the cheek, he vanished.

Clare sat in silence for a moment, until she heard her phone ring. She gave a tiny glance at the caller ID.

Eli Goldsworthy.

With no second thoughts, she shoved her phone back in her bag and was on her way.

**A/N: Review please! I don't like this chapter, it's short and not that great. But next is the Anya/Wesley chapter, and I have so many ideas, I'm excited about writing it! So, hope you guys are still interested, though I take forever to update with lame chapters, haha. **


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